


the end of the beginning

by Molnija



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Getting Together, M/M, and i still don't know what to tag it with, is this gonna be a thing for everything in this au, this is for halloween but it's not really spooky i have failed as a human being, well last year's wasn't spooky either so eh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-31
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2019-01-27 09:15:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12578484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Molnija/pseuds/Molnija
Summary: He had feathers stuck to some of his clothes still, white with specks of black, and when Keiji picked one of them up it dissipated into nothing.In which Oikawa tries his best, Akaashi is very stressed out, and terrible decisions involving spirits are made.





	the end of the beginning

**Author's Note:**

> kinda-sorta prequel to the best worst thing, the Yahashira oneshot from last year! (no need to read that one though, they can stand on their own!) it's set one year before in the same universe! I'm making these a thing, next year there's gonna be Goshihina. or maybe not. I probably shouldn't promise anything. also I'm continuing the tradition of slightly contradictory titles that don't really matter all that much because hOW DO YOU TITLE THINGS
> 
> Happy Halloween! we don't really celebrate it past the commercial aesthetic stuff, having pumpkins (I made Kagehina ones but they don't look like them at all rip), and going trick-or-treating / having parties, but I always love the atmosphere surrounding it.
> 
> last year's Halloween oneshot was one of my favourite things I've ever written so I thought let's go back to that universe! and this time with Akaoi. because Akaoi is a thing in there. it already was established as a thing last year but here's how they got together yo. I don't like it as much as the best worst thing, but that also needed a bit to grow on me so maybe it just needs time? idk.
> 
> I rewrote this three times can you believe it the second draft was 4k words in when I realised it had absolutely no direction to it so I did what I hardly ever do: sat down, wrote down all of the plot points on paper, and just went along those. I usually don't plot, I just take things as they come, but this demanded to be plotted somehow. which annoys me a whole lot. I feel like I've failed
> 
> I've always been into the idea of auras. something about it is just hella cool. along with elemental bending like in Avatar, it was my supernatural childhood obsession. I'm honestly surprised it took me so long to write about it. something about this world is suddenly a lot more right (that sounds like a political statement and I hate that it can also be seen as such in modern times. have I ever mentioned fuck Trump? because. fuck Trump.)
> 
> aNYWAY that aside I hope you enjoy! o/

He had feathers stuck to some of his clothes still, white with specks of black, and when Keiji picked one of them up it dissipated into nothing.

This was why he didn’t like travelling in the same car as an excited Bokuto – he had the annoying tendency to shapeshift in and out of his owl form, which not only caused his feathers to go everywhere, it also posed as quite the safety hazard. Washio, the one driving, had to be commended for not getting a heart attack.

But little of that mattered now that he was actually here and the match was in full force.

Bokuto was playing a great match, but he was even more astounded at Kuroo. He’d come to know and hate him as the middle blocker that kept shutting down even their most failsafe of attacks, but when you were cheering for him it was easy to see why he’d become so renowned. His former teammate and much more pleasant libero, Yaku, was also working like a well-oiled clockwork.

Of course, none of that would have been possible without the setter.

Keiji was vaguely aware of his existence, he thought he’d seen him on TV once or twice, and he’d been featured in Volleyball Monthly a lot when he had still been in high school. One year Keiji’s senior, the university first year Oikawa Tooru had already made a name for himself. It was almost enviable.

When he was watching him like this, he could understand why. None of his movements were unnecessary, everything he did served a greater purpose. In fact, from the way his aura was shining in a calm silver and blue, he could guess that even his smiles and hand movements toward his teammates were calculated to help them win. Despite being a first year, his synergy with the team was something to be praised.

Mostly, though, Keiji found himself staring at him not for his volleyball skills, but for that very aura that was so telling.

Ever since the third years had left, he’d felt tired. Drained. He wasn’t a particularly powerful witch, in fact he doubted he could even be considered one, but being surrounded by humans and nothing else for a longer period of time took a toll on him that was nearly unfair.

That person though? Oikawa Tooru? He could tell he was infallibly human, but he shone brighter than the others. It was as if he was calling out to him.

There could be two reasons why. Reason one, he had an affinity to magic after all, which would render that _human_ argument null and void. Or reason two, he’d been surrounded by powerful magic for a long, long time and it had rubbed off on him. Considering Bokuto was always talking about how they made friends with each other almost immediately, the second option seemed more likely. There were those people that attracted the supernatural for some reason, and he wouldn’t be surprised if Oikawa turned out to be one of those, maybe without even knowing it.

Whether that was Keiji’s magical side or his volleyball side talking he did not know.

Kazenogawa University, Tokyo powerhouse that they were, won the game in straight sets, 25-19 and 25-20 each, and celebrated on the court accordingly, with lots of hugs and laughter. Today had only been a qualifier match for a smaller competition, but he was happy for them regardless. Their name had never been muddled, and yet he felt that this constellation could rise even higher than before. His best friend being part of it made him feel proud.

(Said pride was immediately decimated when he saw him incompletely shapeshift out of excitement again, suddenly growing wings before they disappeared again just to make place for his hair to turn into feathers for a second. If this happened during an actual match, they might get disqualified. Was it so difficult to control it? Every other shapeshifter he’d known had said the opposite. Then again, this was Bokuto, he’d never been one to control himself.)

They took a while to get dressed and probably shouted at by their coach – even though they’d won, he hadn’t looked satisfied, sitting on the side with a frustrated scowl, and Keiji wondered if he was the type to never be happy – but eventually, while Keiji was waiting outside of the gym talking with Washio about nothing in particular, he heard an unmistakeable voice call out to them.

“Akaashi! Washio! We won!!” Bokuto shouted and ran up to them, dressed in his jersey jacket and sweatpants. A few feathers stood out against the black and blue and he sighed, though not without affection.

“We saw,” Washio remarked, not shaken by any of it. “Congrats, it was a great game.”

“They barely stood a chance,” Keiji added.

“I know, right?” Bokuto laughed loudly before pointing behind him, where a few of his teammates were exchanging glances. He saw Kuroo among them, and the setter, Oikawa. He was just as vibrant off the court as on it, and with Bokuto around, Keiji was charged up enough to see his aura clearly; a content soft shade of red mixed with green and a golden sliver of pride. It almost looked Christmas-y, now that he was thinking about it. Not that fitting for August. “I could have never done it without those guys though!”

“Obviously, volleyball’s a team sport, doofus,” Kuroo said and a girl next to him – the manager? – snickered.

Bokuto stuck out his tongue at him, turning his head to an inhuman amount that made the poor presumably-manager girl wince. “Shut it, Kuroo, or I’ll introduce you as the jerk you are!”

“Akaashi and Washio already know me though.”

Oikawa solemnly patted his back. “Don’t worry, Kuro-chan,” he said in a very smug voice, “my tosses have shown you in the best light. If you’re a jerk, you’re at least a jerk that’s very good at the game.”

“Thanks, fuck you too.”

“Anyway,” Bokuto interrupted their banter, visible undeterred, “the senpai are still inside, so it’s only us first years right now, but these guys are my team!”

He proceeded to introduce them to each other one by one, with a little story for each of them. Keiji thought he had most of the names down, but his attention kept being drawn back to Oikawa, a fact that didn’t go unnoticed.

When the others were busy chatting with each other (Washio seemed to know the manager, Rana, through someone from his own university already and they looked like old friends, teasing Kuroo without breaks), Oikawa came up to him and smiled. It was a different smile from the carefully planned ones on the court, a little more wavering and a little less cold, though not necessarily _genuine_ per se. He was … Nervous? Yes, Keiji could easily tell. But why would he be?

“Akaashi Keiji, was it? Bo-kun’s setter.”

“Yes. Nice to meet you.” _Congratulations, you listened to someone introducing people to you._ Also, ‘Bo-kun’?

“He talks about you a lot, you know. I’m always getting compared to you, it’s annoying.” Oikawa didn’t look all that annoyed, honestly, and his aura betrayed nothing past mild amusement toward him either.

It wasn’t surprising that Bokuto would be talking about him. Frankly, Keiji would have been offended were he not. “Good things, I hope?”

“Well, sometimes he calls you a killjoy, but the rest has been mostly decent.”

‘Mostly decent’? Was he messing with him or did he have to go get himself a new best friend? He seemed playful enough, so he let it slide. “That’s good, then. I’m sorry if it gets annoying.”

“It’s not your fault, don’t worry about it.” Oikawa waved his hand around as if trying to clear the air between them. “It’s nice to finally meet that mystery setter though! And I didn’t expect you to be this cute.”

Oh.

That was why he was nervous.

“Are you hitting on me?”

“Uh, that depends. Is it working?” The flicker in Oikawa’s aura told him everything he needed to know. He didn’t want to be smitten, but it did make him feel a little bit good, especially since the person very awkwardly flirting with him wasn’t half bad looking either. Usually, he would have just ignored advances like this, but he was allowed to have fun every once in a while, right?

“It might be.” Now he was faced with a whole different problem though: how on earth did you flirt with people? His relationships up until now hadn’t needed it, he’d just confessed or gotten confessed to. It was easier for him, since he could somewhat read the other’s emotions, but still nowhere near simple. Actually, this might have been a bad idea.

Something flared up in Oikawa’s aura, hopeful bright green. Normally he wouldn’t pay much attention to it, but this one was hard to ignore. Unfortunately, he wasn’t being subtle about it. “Wow, you really are interested with how much you’re staring at me.”

“I can’t help it, you’re too bright.” It took him half a second to realise how completely stupid that sounded, so he hastily added, “Your aura, I mean.”

“Ooh, so you’re one of those that can see it? That’s really cool! Suga-chan can too and he never shuts up about it. Pretty sure he only does it to make me jealous.” He didn’t know who ‘Suga-chan’ was, but he appreciated not having to explain the whole thing to him. “Can you do other things too?”

“Only light magic, like turning on candles and things like that. It’s not very exciting.” Compared to a shapeshifter like Bokuto at least, Keiji was almost ordinary. Oikawa seemed to have a talent for surrounding himself with magical creatures, so he couldn’t be all that special in his eyes either.

“Still better than a boring human like me. But hey, giving me powers would probably be considered making me too perfect—”

Before Keiji could retort something, he heard someone shout from behind them, “Yo, Oikawa! Stop standing around, the bus is gonna leave without you!”

“What? No, it isn’t! Sorry, Akaashi … Hold on, let me …” He fumbled for something in his pockets and pulled out his phone, then looked at him expectantly.

Well, it couldn’t hurt, could it?

He quickly gave him his number and waved goodbye when Oikawa hurried to the bus, aura bright orange and impossible to ignore. Probably nothing would come from this, but maybe they could exchange some volleyball tips, since they were playing the same position and all.

“What are you smiling at?” He flinched when Washio appeared next to him seemingly out of nowhere. Could he at least try and make a sound?

“I’m not smiling.”

“Yes, you are. I can take a photo if you don’t believe me.”

He hadn’t even realised his friend was right. Well, he supposed there was no harm in liking to feel wanted every once in a while. So what if it made him smile?

It wasn’t like there was anything that was going happen, after all. He was allowed to have fun too. Occasionally. When his rowdy first years weren’t around …

(He’d never thought he’d long for the time of a dejected Bokuto someday, but his new kouhai were giving that guy a run for his money.)

He’d just enjoy this happiness while it lasted, no big deal.

 

* * *

 

 **Conversation: Akaashi Keiji (** **Akaacchi** **♡** **)** **  
** October 13th, 08:11 PM

_> So Yukihira-san decided we should do a match girls team vs. boys team and they destroyed us. I don’t know how it happened._

_d’aww, don’t feel bad, it happens to the best of us <  
although I would have liked to see it. did they beat you in straight sets? <_

_> 25-12  & 25-14. It wasn’t pretty._

_oh my god that’s amazing <  
I’ve never heard of Fukurodani’s girls team before but they sure kicked your butt ^w^) <_

_> We’ll get them back next time. But first, Spring Tournament prelims. You guys are playing too, right?_

_go raise hell,_ _Akaacchi_ _❥_ _ <  
yup, next month! come cheer us on! <_

_> That goes without saying._

Tooru smiled at his screen. He hadn’t seen Akaashi in person ever since that match where they exchanged numbers, but they’d been texting every day since, and with every message he got from him he felt a little more like rolling around on the floor and squeal.

Why was Akaashi so damn cute? It wasn’t fair. Tooru was supposed to be the cute one, that was his whole _thing_.

He didn’t even particularly mind it anymore when Bokuto compared the two of them. Before, it had been more than a little obnoxious to constantly hear ‘Akaashi would set the ball higher’ and ‘Akaashi didn’t do those flashy dumps’ and ‘Akaashi got along with our manager Yukie much better than you do with Rana’. He wasn’t Akaashi, damn it, he had his own way of doing things, and while he could understand being compared with a setter Bokuto had played with before to make things easier to explain, couldn’t he just leave the Akaashi part out of those statements?

But now it was different. He’d watched some of Fukurodani’s matches, both of this and last year, and he could appreciate how good of a player he was. He didn’t stand out much, but that was precisely what allowed him to support the team in the best possible manner. And damn it, he looked good while doing it, if you paid attention to him.

When he’d met him for the first time, Tooru had immediately thought of him as a guy that was really pretty, but probably a prick. He’d know about this sort of thing, he could be described as one as well if you were being overly critical. That was why he’d started talking to him in the first place, to figure out if he’d been right.

Well, he’d been dead wrong.

Not on the pretty part, mind you; he treasured every one of the selfies Akaashi sent him once in a blue moon, and the part of him that wasn’t crushing on him helplessly was still kind of pissed off that he dare look better than himself on some – and in person too. What a cruel, cruel twist of fate. Here he’d thought Sugawara would be the only beautiful terror he’d have to deal with, but life didn’t like him, a fact he’d long since established.

But Akaashi was far from a prick. He could be rude sometimes, or blunt, rather, but his politeness wasn’t fake or stilted, and he seemed genuinely interested in what Tooru had to say, with his own stories to share. He could tell why he was friends with Bokuto; in the matches he’d seen, Akaashi’s calm had rivalled his energy well, and Bokuto’s bright enthusiasm had been bringing out the best in all his teammates, especially the setter. Tooru knew the feeling too – that feeling of ‘I want to do my absolute best’ even if it wasn’t strictly necessary.

And of course, there was the aura seeing thing. He’d always been fascinated by the supernatural, so Seijoh being pretty much a bottomless pit of supernatural creatures had been a nice surprise. Compared to them, Akaashi wasn’t all that special, but only in magical terms, as Tooru found he’d consider him very special regarding everything else. When you were faced with a werewolf, three witches (one of whom was leading the team right now), one half-fairy, one extremely lazy nightmare, and one perfectly normal human except for the fact that he’d been raised by youkai, few things looked out of the ordinary anymore. And now he had a shapeshifter in Bokuto too …

Sometimes he thought he might be a magnet for those things.

They didn’t talk about Akaashi’s powers much, since he knew a lot about it from Sugawara already, but it seemed to take quite the toll on his body if there wasn’t any magic around to charge him with energy. It’s why he’d clung to Bokuto “hooting ball of energy” Koutarou so much, but apparently Fukurodani now only had humans on the team. He’d also said that since Tooru’s aura was so bright, he might be a candidate for giving him energy as well.

Of course, that meant he absolutely had to meet up with him again and of course it would work so Akaashi would want to stay with him forever and who was he to say no to that?

His phone buzzed again and he was excited for approximately .3 seconds before he saw that the message wasn’t from Akaashi, but from Hanamaki.

 **Conversation: Hanamaki Takahiro (** **Makki** **☆** **)** **  
** October 13th, 08:23 PM

_> i just sent you a card  
> did it arrive?_

He furrowed his eyebrows at the text. A card? ‘Just’ sent? He could probably do that with magic, but—

Something appeared next to him with a light _poof_ and he jumped onto his bed with a shriek.

What the hell?! That had been an actual explosion! A very small one, but an explosion still!

He waved his hand around to get rid of the pink smoke it had left in the air and coughed a few times before he noticed that a card had dropped on his bedroom floor right underneath the spot in the air where the explosion had happened.

At least he could answer Makki’s question now?

_yes but what the hell? send it in the mail like a normal person! <_

_> im not a normal person  
> welcome to my twisted mind_

_shut up, Makki. <_

He picked up the card and inspected it carefully. It was a bright pink – so bright in fact that he could hardly read the text on it. It didn’t help that it was overrun with stickers, most of them Halloween-related but some of them not (an alpaca? What did an alpaca have to do with Halloween? Maybe if it had been wearing a costume, sure, but not just an ordinary alpaca), to the point where it blocked out some of the words, all of which were written in a glittery teal. When he turned the card around, the back turned pitch-black and the very not scary voice of Hanamaki trying to sound ominous said, “Come to my party … Cancelling is not allowed … Ooooooooooooooooo.”

What a terrible, terrible taste in invitations.

He had to be a bit creative in interpreting the barely readable parts of the text, but it wasn’t hard to figure out he was being invited to a Halloween party at Hanamaki’s place in a town so remote he wasn’t sure it actually existed. Tooru had no idea what Hanamaki was doing with his life, as whenever he was asked about it he would give increasingly ridiculous answers that changed every time, but apparently it made enough money to buy an actual house. Which was probably the scariest part of all – they’d just graduated high school and his friend already had a house? He’d been lucky in getting a tiny apartment, that he was sharing with Sugawara no less.

He considered discarding the invitation just to spite him but it only took him a split second to realise that if he was invited, everyone else from Seijoh would be as well, or at least the other former third years. Probably all of the regular line-up. Matsukawa was living in Saitama nowadays to study magic with his family, Iwaizumi had stayed in Miyagi to go to a local university, and with Tooru living in the dead center of Tokyo, they hadn’t had any time to meet up ever since they all had parted ways. He was still in contact with them, sure, but seeing them again would be much better. Even if they couldn’t come and it turned out to only be Hanamaki, that was fine with him.

He was about to send to his friend that he’d be coming when he stopped in his tracks, suddenly struck with an idea.

Halloween. At a witch’s place. Lots of magic around, no doubt.

Akaashi could really use this.

Only 60% of it was his own selfish desire to spend time with him again and maybe something more, depending on how well the party went, the rest just genuinely liked the thought. With Akaashi always having problems with energy since being around humans couldn’t replenish it, this would be like an ultimate charge-up. He did say there could never be too much, so that wasn’t a problem. And even if he didn’t know anyone there, he did have Tooru, and maybe he could bring some of the others along as well. Bokuto was the only shapeshifter he knew, that could make for quite the show.

_can I bring some people along? <_

_> sure why not  
> as long as they dont destroy the house_

_they won’t! thanks! <_

This was a wonderful plan. The best he’d had in a while, if he did say so himself. Now he only had to hope that Akaashi was free on Halloween for it to work.

 **Conversation: Akaashi Keiji (** **Akaacchi** **♡** **)** **  
** October 13th, 08:42 PM

_say, Akaacchi … <_

 

* * *

 

“He’s asking you out on a date.”

“He’s not,” he argued, both with Yukihira and his own blush. “It’s just his friend’s party.”

Yukihira Hanami, captain of the girls volleyball team of Fukurodani and his classmate, snickered. “Sure, keep telling yourself that. Isn’t he the guy you’re always texting? Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone you have a thing for him.”

“I don’t have a thing for him,” Keiji said sternly, which only made his friend laugh harder.

“Dang, this is gold! Keiji-kun has a crush!” she sing-songed and he wildly gesticulated for her to pipe down, but to no avail. Everyone in the hallway was already staring. Wonderful.

“Yukihira-san, please, you’re giving people the wrong idea …”

“Drop the ‘san’ already, we’ve been classmates for three years! Call me Yukki like my other friends!”

“People are staring, Yukihira-san.”

She blew out her cheeks and put her hands on her hips. “You’re no fun! Instead of just being happy he asked you out …”

“He didn’t ask me out.” Just because he asked him to come to that Halloween party with him didn’t mean it was a date. There was a practical reason behind it, after all, and he did really want to get charged up again even if it meant going to a party, which usually wasn’t his thing. Recently he’d overslept a lot, which used to never happen. Now that he was captain, it was even worse of an offense as it usually would have been. “He’s just being nice.”

“Oh please, is your middle name Denial or what?”

He should have never talked about this to her in the first place. He’d known she had no semblance of tact or subtlety, possibly even more so than his first years. But his mother was on a business trip and he surely wouldn’t mention it to his teammates and disrupt practice, so eventually after a whole day and a half of holding it in he just exploded and spilled everything.

Which wasn’t helping his case, to be fair. Why be nervous about something like that if it didn’t mean more?

Despite what Yukihira might be thinking, he did understand his own emotions very well. And he did not have a crush on Oikawa. Just because he liked talking to him and stayed up until way past a reasonable time to message him and watched all of his matches only paying attention to him and felt like something inside him was going to burst every time he received a heart in his texts or a selfie from him didn’t mean he liked him like that. It was a preposterous idea. Akaashi Keiji did not get crushes.

“Need emotional support? I can come along.” For anyone who didn’t know Yukihira this might have sounded like a good idea, but he did know her, and he was well aware that her ‘emotional support’ consisted of laughing and pointing at people who were having a bad time. Thankfully, he had a method to scare her away regardless of whether she’d insist.

“Bokuto-san is coming along too, so no need.”

She shrieked remarkably quietly before shaking her head, making her dark brown side ponytail flop around. “Nonononono. Not Bokuto-san. I’m not coming. Sorry, Keiji-kun, you’re on your own.”

Why on earth she’d come to Fukurodani when she was dead afraid of owls Keiji would never know. “I just said Bokuto-san is there, so I won’t be alone either way.”

Bokuto coming with him would normally be something to be happy about, but the track record didn’t make him too optimistic. Unlike him, his friend loved social gatherings like this, which usually meant he disappeared into the crowd making friends with everyone and the kitchen sink and leaving him on his own no five minutes in. Keiji himself was just terrible at small talk, so it was more of a torture than a fun event. Besides, parties were loud and the air was usually pretty bad unless they were being held outside and everyone having fun meant everyone’s aura flaring up in all sorts of nauseating colours that gave him a headache if he looked for too long.

“Bokuto-san is no match for me! But, uh, at least it’s something.” She gave him a weak thumbs-up and slapped him on the shoulder, shoving him forward. “Good luck, Keiji-kun! Go get the guy! Like a shoujo manga protagonist!”

“I don’t think it works that way.”

Their conversation was interrupted by the bell signalling the end of the break and Yukihira pouted at the sound resonating through the school building.

“Where’s that place anyway?” she asked as they walked back to their classroom. “Where the party is, I mean.”

“The address said Marunoyama, but I don’t know where it is. You probably won’t know it.”

“Maruno … Marunoyama …” To his surprise, she gasped and clapped her hand together. “I know that place! One time my dad and I got lost on a roadtrip and ended up there! It’s super tiny, but really nice. Terrible internet connection though. But it makes up for it by that amazing plaza …”

Keiji might know the only person in the world who has heard of that place. Incredible. “Plaza?”

“Oh, yeah! There’s that plaza that they say is just, like, brimming with magic. I’ve heard on certain holidays they light candles there and call upon the spirits of old or something. Nothing happened when I was there, but it felt different somehow, really solemn! I don’t think I imagined that.”

He was pretty sure she had, in fact, imagined that, but it still piqued his interest. Maybe he could use a place like that to help balance his powers out a bit, so that he wouldn’t have these problems anymore. At the very least he was interested in how much of her story was true. Halloween had always been a holiday loaded with magic, so he could imagine she actually had a point.

But going there on his own sounded like a dangerous endeavour. There was a reason why people said not to mess with spirits. He didn’t hold much faith in Bokuto, that guy couldn’t sit still for long enough to do anything that required focus beyond volleyball.

However … Oikawa _had_ invited him …

It was worth a try?

Surely there was nothing wrong in disappearing from the party for a while to go out on their own, just the two of them, to a mystical place in a remote town at night …

Damn it, now it really did sound like a date.

“What’cha gonna do, take your shoujo prince out to that plaza?”

He winced at how accurate she was. Damn you, Yukihira Hanami. “He’s not a shoujo prince,” he said instead of answering her question and giving her the satisfaction of being right. “He’s just a friend and a really good setter.”

She wasn’t listening to him, instead opting to hum the opening of a romance anime she’d forced him to watch last week. Keiji sat down with a sigh, but now that the thought was in his head, he couldn’t shake it. Being alone with Oikawa …

How did he even know they were compatible past texting? Sure, their messages were always loads of fun, whether they were talking about volleyball or school or their friends or things that didn’t matter. He wasn’t normally a big texter but it was easy to talk to him, to the point where he got lost in their conversation until he missed something important. Occasionally they’d call, even, and then he’d find himself listen more than speak, because Oikawa had a lot to say and his voice was very nice, especially when he was calm and quiet. Sometimes Keiji wished he could see his aura like this too, since he found it difficult to get a read on him at times, but when he asked, he’d usually get his questions answered, and by now he didn’t feel it was necessary anymore to try and understand him. All he needed to do was talk to him.

That … Didn’t sound like it would change if they met up in person again, to be honest.

He sent a message asking him to visit the plaza with him when he was there later in the day, and received a _sure!_ _♥_  that made his heart race and sent his mind into overdrive.

 _Keiji-kun has a crush!_ Yukihira’s voice resounded in his head when he lay on the bed staring at the ceiling, feeling like he was going to burn, and seriously, damn this girl. If it hadn’t been for her, he could have continued ignoring this and pretending it was all going to be fine, but she just had to have mentioned it. How did he deserve these friends? Couldn’t life give him a break every once in a while?

Rhetorical questions, of course. He knew he was destined for unending stress.

 

* * *

 

Pumpkin cut-out garlands, spooky background music, sickeningly sweet candy, and a very pissed off Iwaizumi were the most important ingredients for the perfect Halloween party.

“You’re kidding me. You can’t be serious.”

Why he was so mad about a little lack of decoration was beyond Tooru, but what he did know was that he didn’t particularly want to be in his way right now. Instead he directed all his attention to bathroom door, hanging up a giant pretty well-made plastic skill only to take it down again. And hang it up again. And take it down again. Rinse and repeat until Iwaizumi had calmed down on the phone.

He could understand why he was stressing though. The party was tomorrow and with how much work Hanamaki had decided to dump on them, time seemed a little close. Personally he wasn’t worrying too much, it’d all be fine, but his friend didn’t seem to think the same way.

“Yes— No, it’s the big one … No, the spider, the _spider_ — Matsukawa, I swear to _god_!” He heard Iwaizumi groan behind him and when he dared turn around just a bit, take just a tiny peak, he looked like he was ready to kill a man. Considering that Tooru was the only man currently in the house with him, that was worrying to say the least.

“Yes, it has to be that one! No, you can’t buy anything else! Good … Wait, what did you just call me? Matsukawa Issei—” Ah, apparently Matsukawa had hung up. Was it safe to talk to him again now?

He might as well try his luck. “Is he getting it?”

“I fucking hope so,” Iwaizumi muttered in what sounded like an admirable attempt to not shout. “None of this would be a problem if Hanamaki’s decoration plan wasn’t so specific.”

“I get what he’s going for though,” Tooru mused, looking around the second floor they were on, where everything so far had been meticulously arranged to the theme of a run-down haunted castle. Uh, a run-down haunted castle that was about to host a party. It kind of reminded him of a movie he’d seen once. “The more effort you put in, the better it’s going to look.”

“Yeah, but why are we the ones putting in all the effort?”

That was … A valid question. Tooru had been called to the house a day early by a stressed-out sounding Hanamaki, only to find out that that had been just a façade to bait him to come here and decorate his house for him. The same thing had happened to Iwaizumi and Matsukawa, while Hanamaki was currently off doing god knew what.

It was a bit like the old times at Seijoh. Hanamaki had always been amazing at waltzing off his work on other people, preferably his friends. Although he complained, Tooru didn’t hate it; in fact he was happy to be working with them again, even if it was only for a Halloween party.

He picked up a pumpkin-shaped candy jar and placed it on the side table by the staircase. It stood out a lot, but that’d only mean more people would get candy … Which he wasn’t sure if he liked or not. Maybe he’d just have to hoard some. He’d definitely be eating a lot, and if he was going to be with Akaashi a lot, and he knew that guy could eat like no tomorrow, he’d have to put some aside from it as well.

When he reached inside the glass to take a bit of candy out, Iwaizumi slapped his hand like he’d been waiting for out.

“Ouch! Iwa-chan, don’t do that!” He rubbed his hand and pouted at him. Like old times indeed.

“Don’t touch it until the party, dumbass.”

“I was trying to be resourceful! Put a bit aside for harder days …”

“If you’re so desperate to eat, eat shit.”

“ _Wow_ , that’s _rude_!”

They stared at each other for a long time until it was impossible to keep up the atmosphere – they snorted and starting laughing.

Even though they were texting daily, Tooru had missed Iwaizumi a lot. They’d grown up together and Iwaizumi had probably spent more time with him than with his own parents. His sister referred to him as her second brother out of habit. Now that they were studying in different parts of the country it was the first time they had ever been truly apart, and sometimes he found himself doing something stupid and waiting for a punch that never came, or sitting awake at night feeling small and insignificant and getting dressed to walk over to Iwaizumi’s place so he could talk some sense into him until he remembered that wasn’t possible anymore.

He’d been excited for the party mostly because of Akaashi, but his friends, especially the one he called his best friend, would never be less important to him than some stupid crush.

Speaking of Akaashi …

“You know your way around here, right?”

Iwaizumi raised an eyebrow. “Kinda. I visited before. Why?”

“Well, there’s this plaza that I want to take Akaashi to and I’m not sure where exactly it is …”

He looked at him blinking for a moment before he seemed to realise what Tooru was talking about. “Oh, right, Akaashi’s coming. You mean Marunoyama Plaza? It’s right in the centre, if you miss it I’ll laugh at you.”

Sometimes he forgot that Iwaizumi did actually know Akaashi. Not all that well, they couldn’t be considered friends or anything, but they’d met at a summer camp once, or so he’d heard. He didn’t think they talked, but at least they were aware of each other’s existence, which made things a lot easier. “It’s just called Marunoyama Plaza like the town? That’s so lame.”

“Tell that to the town planners, not me. So what about it, you wanna take your boyfriend out or what?”

He flinched and hastily corrected him. “He’s not my boyfriend! We just get along is all!”

“Don’t you dare tell me you don’t have a crush on him.” Iwaizumi picked up a cute round bat plushie and looked at it instead of at Tooru like a polite person would have.

“I didn’t say that, but that’s not the point.” He did. Have a crush. A massive one. But that didn’t make Akaashi his boyfriend! Unfortunately. “You know he’s a magic user, of course he’d want to go there. I’m just coming along to make sure everything goes alright.” His gaze fell on a plastic ‘crystal ball’ in one of the boxes Hanamaki had given them. “Where does that thing go?”

Iwaizumi pointed at a small wardrobe by the wall. “I never thought I’d see the day. Oikawa Tooru, actually in love.”

“Hey, it’s not like it’s never happened!” He’d had relationships, plenty of them, though most of them had been with girls he’d have felt bad for turning down. One or two of them he did really like a lot though and he’d done his fair share of pining for celebrities and other people he couldn’t have. It all paled in comparison to this giant crush on Akaashi, but still. “I just have very refined tastes.”

Iwaizumi threw the bat plushie at him and it hit him right in the face.

(This one didn’t hurt though. Dang, this thing was soft. Soft and adorable. It kind of reminded him of Akaashi. Minus the part where he was pretty sure Akaashi could still kick his ass if he wanted to, magically or no. Which, if he thought about it, made him like him even more.)

“How is he even into you? I feel bad for him.”

“Wait, he’s into me? You think he’s into me?” Iwaizumi didn’t know so why did he sound so sure about it? Did he know something Tooru didn’t? Was he just attempting to shut him up? Or give him false hope? “Iwa-chan, why are you implying he’s into me?”

His friend sighed so loudly the entire town must have heard.

“Iwa-chan! This isn’t funny! Don’t play with my dreams like this!”

“Aren’t you usually smarter than this?”

“Oh my god, was that a compliment—”

He glared at him and Tooru immediately fell silent and gulped before he continued. “I don’t know Akaashi that well, but he’s definitely not the type to text someone every single day. And with everything you told me about what he says to you, you’ve got to be stupid not to notice it yourself. Plus he’s coming to the party because you invited him and I know for a fact he doesn’t like parties, so why else would he come all the way out here for one? You don’t really think it’s only because he’s got to get charged up with energy, right? There’s easier ways to do that. Seriously, when have you become this dumb?”

If Tooru was a computer program, this was about the time he’d crash and require a restart. _Error, Oikawa.exe has stopped functioning._

He stared into nothing trying to process what his friend had just told him. Some part of him wanted to find a rational explanation for all of it so he wouldn’t get his hopes up too high, but he had to admit Iwaizumi had made a good point.

But if Akaashi liked him, and he liked Akaashi, and both of them liked each other, why weren’t they together yet? Wasn’t this how it was supposed to be? He wouldn’t know, he’d only ever gotten confessed to. How did you start a relationship?

“Iwa-chan …” he started but only received an amused look.

“No.”

“Iwa-chaaaan! You have to help me!”

“Do it yourself or it’ll never work out.”

He was alone in this world. Alone and helpless. Ah, what cruelty …

Okay. Fine. He’d do it himself. He’d have a wonderful evening at the party and then at the plaza, and they’d get together somehow, he’d work something out. Maybe Akaashi would confess to him and do his work for him. Maybe not. But somehow, _somehow_ , it would all work out.

He hoped.

 

* * *

 

If there was one thing he had to appreciate this house for, it was that it had a balcony to sit on and stare into nothing while trying to brace yourself for what was to come.

As soon as Keiji had come here, he’d been practically hit in the face with magical energy. Before it had even had a chance to work on him, he’d already made a run for it to the most secluded place he had found, and with the glass door closed behind him muffling not just the music from inside but also the steady flow of magic, he could breathe.

He’d expected there to be a lot, but out of everyone attending the party, if he had to guess, only two or three were human. While it was true he couldn’t technically gather too much energy, suddenly being thrown into it without having properly readied himself for the impact wasn’t the nicest feeling.

He knew Oikawa was around somewhere and Bokuto was probably having a good time, but for now he had to change his approach to the situation. Make sure he was braced for the wave of magic threatening to run him over and pull him under, be careful to not get too carried away on the subsequent high. He’d always been decent at keeping himself in check, but this was the first time he was faced with such intensity.

The dull music suddenly grew clearer as someone opened the door and stepped out on the balcony with him. He was about to be mad about it when he realised they were radiating no energy – so they were human.

“Geez, Akaacchi, don’t just run away as soon as you get here! We have plans, remember?”

It had been a while since he’d last heard that voice.

“Oikawa-san,” he said and turned around to see him dressed in an extremely detailed vampire costume – so detailed it was tacky again. Talk about overdressed – complete with plastic teeth and red dye colouring strands of his hair to simulate blood. Why he’d get blood in his hair if he was supposed to be drinking it he did not know though. Artistic freedom? “I’m sorry, I … Miscalculated.”

Next to him, Keiji felt boring. He couldn’t see his aura right now – nothing surprising, so many magical creatures in the same nearby place tended to muddle up his abilities until they just cancelled them out completely – but he knew it was there, and once they were completely alone he’d likely be blinded by it. It didn’t help that his own costume, a hand-me-down witch robe his mother had forced on him, was nowhere near as flashy as anything else in this house.

(If nothing else, they’d done a great job with the decorating.)

“Miscalculated?” Oikawa raised an eyebrow. “With the energy?”

He nodded and received an absolutely adorable pout. And there it was; here he’d thought he might get over this silly crush if he saw him in person again but all it did was make him think such strange and frankly obnoxious things. How annoying.

“But that was the whole reason I invited you! Didn’t you say you’d be fine?”

“Was it,” he muttered. Something in his heart twisted when he thought about how he might be saying the truth. Although he wanted to believe there was something more … As Yukihira would constantly remind him either way. “I will, I just need a moment to mentally prepare.”

Talking to him face to face felt calmer and quieter than their text conversations, which usually consisted of quick retorts and longer-than-necessary messages about their days, but he liked this too. He didn’t feel like he had to make an effort, since Oikawa understood his situation and how he worked.

He could get used to that feeling.

“Take your time, but then we’ll have to leave for the plaza right away if we still want to catch it tonight. Uh, that’s what Makki said at least.”

 “It won’t take that long. Just give me a moment to relax.”

The moment turned out to be roughly five more minutes long and Oikawa stayed outside with him, and something about the air between them seemed loaded with … Things. It was comfortable, very much so, but he felt like they were things he wanted to say and things he wanted to hear but neither of them said a word until he felt fairly certain in his own abilities to deal with the situation.

He nodded, more to himself, and turned to face him. “We can go. Thank you for waiting with me.”

“Going back inside would have been a waste of time, wouldn’t it?” Oikawa said but it didn’t feel all that honest.

Inside was just as horrid as he’d left it. It was clear everyone was enjoying themselves, singing and dancing along to the music very off-key and in an astoundingly wrong rhythm, eating sweets that were scattered all over the place, working magic that he feared would set the house on fire sooner or later, and overall having a good time. In a way, he envied them – he wanted to enjoy it as much as them, and the atmosphere of the decorating was on point, spooky but not too terrifying … But he wasn’t the right person for this.

Still, he could appreciate the wave of energy that hit him as soon as he set foot in the house now that he was ready for it.

It really was like a wave, powerful and fast and threatening to knock him over, but he accepted it graciously as it seeped into his body and filled him with a thrumming sense of vibrancy. He wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight, but that was okay. This moment alone would have been enough to last him a week or so, and with whatever would happen at the plaza there’d be more to come.

Someone bumped into him while he was taking it in, a fairly small boy with a buzzcut and a distinct lack of costume. He didn’t know who he was, but Oikawa seemed to, as he heard him gasp. “Watacchi! You’re finally here!”

“Sorry, traffic was really bad,” the boy – Watacchi? That sounded like a nickname – said with an apologetic look on his face. “Have you seen Hanamaki-san?”

“Right by that door, the one in the werewolf costume. Can’t miss him! But before you go …” He stepped forward and eyed him suspiciously. “Why aren’t you wearing a costume? Even Akaacchi’s wearing a costume.”

“Is that a costume?” Watacchi – seriously, what was his actual name? – muttered before shaking his head. “I completely forgot about it and when I remembered, I couldn’t find anything.”

“No, we’re not having that. Akaacchi, wait here! I’m getting this boy a costume.” He didn’t even get a chance to ask him how before he disappeared into the crowd like the man with a mission he was.

“I’m sorry,” Keiji said.

The boy waved him off and shot him a knowing smile. “He’s just having fun, let him. I don’t think we’ve met before? I’m Watari Shinji, third year at Aoba Johsai in Miyagi. I’m vice-captain of the volleyball club.”

Aoba Johsai … Right, the school that Oikawa had gone to. Apparently, Hanamaki had used to be his teammate on the volleyball club as well, so no wonder there’d be people from that school showing up. And he was glad for Watari’s sake that his name wasn’t actually Watacchi. “Akaashi Keiji, third year at Fukurodani. My best friend is in university with Oikawa-san, so I’ve been kind of pulled along. I didn’t know Hanamaki-san before this though … Or most people here, actually.”

“Ah, okay.”

They stood around for an awkward moment and Keiji didn’t need to see anyone’s aura to tell they were currently experiencing the same feeling, that being _What am I supposed to say to this person?_

He heard Oikawa return after what felt like eons before he saw him. “Here! I got you a costume!”

“He’s fast,” Watari remarked.

He was waving around a floppy pumpkin hat and a bright orange cape and Keiji exchanged a glance with Watari. They seemed to be agreeing on this being a pretty sad excuse for a costume.

(Oikawa’s enthusiasm, however, had to be commended.)

“I didn’t find anything else, so I stole this from Kousa-chan. You’re a pumpkin man now.” He placed the hat on Watari’s head like a crown and handed him the cape, and even though it was still a very boring sight, he at least fit in with the crowd a bit more now. Keiji gave him a congratulatory thumbs-up and his new acquaintance mirrored his motion before he headed toward the direction Oikawa had pointed him in to find Hanamaki.

“Geez, seriously. I’ve got to take care of everything.”

“You really don’t,” Keiji murmured more to himself.

“I do or you’ll all be done for without me. Like my kouhai, Yahaba … What’s he doing as captain without me, I wonder … He won’t talk about the club with me.”

He remembered the name from one of their text conversations – Yahaba Shigeru, a witch, apparently, and a somewhat impulsive person according to Oikawa. He wondered if he was here too if his vice was. If Hanamaki was a witch as well, he was sure he’d taught him some tricks, so he guessed they got along. Well, not that he knew anything about either of them, but he had a feeling. That feeling also told him to stay away from them if he wanted to avoid trouble.

“I’m sure he’s doing a good job,” was what he ended up saying.

“He better be, but I have faith in him. But I’d say let’s get going!” His smile was somewhat stilted when he waved for Keiji to follow him. In an admittedly admirable show of skill neither of them bumped into anyone or anything, which, considering the speed at which some people here were running about, was quite impressive. He thought he saw Bokuto among the masses, shape-shifting in and out of form and earning entranced _oooo_ s and _aaaa_ s, and he felt some sense of pride at the people’s reactions. His best friend sure was something.

He could have used his moral support for this too, but it had been decided he’d go with Oikawa, and besides, he could trust him not to break his concentration unlike _some_ people. Unless he’d never be able to concentrate in the first place, as while he kind of hated the thought, he couldn’t deny that the further away they got from the masses, the louder his heart started to beat, and annoyingly so it also seemed to wake those damn butterflies that were making a fuss in his stomach.

Having feelings for someone was so obnoxious.

 

* * *

 

Hanamaki had described the plaza as ‘kinda cool’.

Hanamaki had vastly understated that.

Traditional lanterns were set around it in a circle, lighting up the night in haunting shades of orange and purple, and it was empty aside from a small wooden altar right in the middle that had been visited by many who had left candles standing on it and pieces of paper nailed to the side, filled with hastily scribbled wishes and pleas to the gods. It reminded him of a shrine he’d see in a quiet area of a town where you’d ask for guidance and support from heaven, but at the same time it wasn’t – he’d always felt calm and at ease when at a shrine, and this place was just oozing … Discomfort.

Tooru would have lied if he said he wasn’t at least a little scared.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” he whispered, but even that seemed too loud in the otherwise complete quiet surrounding them. The town, remote as it was, had been reasonably busy for Halloween, but once they’d stepped through the gate onto the plaza, silence had draped over them like they’d entered a new world. A world he really didn’t care for staying in much longer.

Akaashi only nodded, face solemn and focused on the altar. In many ways he had to admire him; he didn’t seem scared in the slightest. He’d been a bit jumpy on the way here, but just like this place spooked Tooru, it seemed to have a calming effect on him. It normally would have made him feel a bit better, but all he could think about right now was that the spiritual connection Akaashi had was making him underestimate the dangers of this location. A small part inside him was screaming that they should have never come here. Couldn’t they have had a normal date?

He knew he couldn’t say that to him now though. It clearly meant a lot to him. In their texts, he’d gotten the feeling that he didn’t particularly like being the way he was, weak and dependent on other’s energy. Not fully human, but not fully magical either. If this could help, he’d be glad for him.

So he just stayed a few metres away, watching him intently, ready to step in even though he had no idea what he was supposed to do if something did happen.

Akaashi took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

Before he’d arrived, he’d texted him a rundown of what he assumed it was going to be like, but it had been extremely vague so Tooru really didn’t have any idea of what he was about to do. It made him even more concerned – he liked having a proper plan for a situation and while Akaashi seemed to have one, that didn’t make him any wiser.

He reached out with his left hand, holding it just above the edge of the altar, and despite better judgement Tooru took a step forward to hear what he was mumbling.

“Spirits of old, I call for your guidance. On this night where the boundary of what was and what will be is no longer, please let me look upon you – for ye can only be recognised by one with the ability to see beyond.”

Something about his voice sounded wrong.

This was a terrible idea. They needed to call it off. Tooru didn’t know much about magic past what his friends told him, but he knew that messing with spirits wasn’t the way to go.

“Akaacchi—”

He was cut off by Akaashi opening his eyes and breathing out once, a small cloud forming in the cool October air.

It was true that Tooru was absolutely, entirely human. Sugawara and Akaashi both had told him his aura shone brighter than most, presumably because he’d spent so much of his life surrounded by magical creatures that had somehow rubbed off on him, but he was powerless beyond that. At first he hadn’t wanted to settle for that, had tried to acquire magic somehow, but eventually he’d decided that it was for the best. There were little spells that, when written by actual witches, could be done by anyone no matter how little affinity they had for them, and that was enough.

But right now – right know he swore he saw Akaashi’s aura.

Weakly so, but it was there: a radiant red with gold wavering in between, occasionally muddled by black and dark purple and a colour he’d never seen before. It was beautiful.

Beyond the beauty, though, he could tell something was very, very off.

“Akaacchi?” he asked quietly. Then, when he received no answer, louder, “Akaashi. Turn around. Look at me—”

“I can see them,” Akaashi interrupted him, still staring at the altar. A small smile appeared on his lips and his eyes were widened, disbelieving. “I can see them.”

Then he turned to face him.

Tooru repressed the urge to scream.

He looked downright manic, staring right through him into something he couldn’t see, as if they weren’t even on the same plane of existence anymore. Drops of sweat were dripping down his face and he was visibly shaking, though if in ecstasy or fear he could not tell. And his eyes – eyes that used to be of a calming sea-green – were almost entirely pitch-black, pupils so far dilated he couldn’t make out his iris anymore.

He wanted to say this creature in front of him wasn’t Akaashi anymore, but that wasn’t it. He was. That was what made it so terrifying. He was Akaashi, but overrun with some sort of power that had been granted to him that he should have never asked for in the first place.

This wasn’t right. He had to do something. _Anything._

Was leading him away from the plaza going to make him go back to normal or would it only lead to more problems? He couldn’t see any other option.

“Hey, let’s go back to Makki’s house,” he said, voice shaking. He didn’t want to go near him, he didn’t know what he’d do, but when he got no response but the same strangely vacant stare he knew he had to.

He wasn’t qualified to deal with this. He didn’t know enough about magic to have any idea of what was happening. He’d never heard about anything like this before.

Tooru shook his head and focused on getting closer to him, one step at a time.

Akaashi didn’t move, which was helpful if nothing else, but he still hesitated before grabbing his wrist and pulling him toward the entrance.

He heard him gasp but didn’t dare look at him as he pulled him along. If this hunch was wrong, he might currently be on his way to doom this entire town, but it was the only way he knew.

The plaza was small, but the walk to the entrance seemed to take an eternity. Akaashi was stumbling behind him but he kept his pace, focused only on the gate, the arc that stood there with no walls to connect to it but still felt like it was keeping something outside – or inside, even. He didn’t want to think about that though.

As soon as they had set foot through it, Akaashi collapsed against him.

Was that a good sign? That had to be a good sign, right? If he was unconscious …

It was only when he heard him mumble something he didn’t understand that Tooru realised he wasn’t unconscious at all, just weakened. Which in itself was freaking him out quite a bit again. Perhaps this hadn’t worked at all and they were all thoroughly fucked.

“Akaashi?” he started softly and poked his cheek. “I have no idea what you just said but please tell me it was a good thing.”

“Sorry,” was what he could make out when Akaashi tried again. The next part sounded vaguely like “this was a terrible idea”, which he found himself more than agreeing with.

He stroked his hair while trying to come up with something to do. Would getting him to a hospital do him any good? He knew they couldn’t go back to the party unless he wanted Bokuto to murder him, but he didn’t know anyone else here where they could crash. Akaashi definitely needed rest and Tooru wasn’t really feeling up to having fun at a party pretending nothing happened either, but he doubted any doctor could do something about this. Now if they had a witch who could heal … Which to be fair Hanamaki’s party probably did have but, again, he appreciated being alive.

Were there hotels here? It was a small town, so he wouldn’t count on it, but it was his best bet. Or they could sleep in his car. Or leave the town and drive until they found something …

He had no reception here, so looking it up online was out. He’d have to ask a trick-or-treater or someone who looked like they knew their way around. Thankfully, there were a reasonable number of people still around.

Having Akaashi basically stuck to him wasn’t necessarily helping, but he’d been through worse. If this situation hadn’t been so terrible, he’d have probably been over the moon.

After a short moment of consideration, he picked him up bridal style – which was _very romantic_ , if he might add, though Akaashi somehow managed to look unimpressed even in his current state – and proceeded to confuse some unsuspecting passengers who thankfully could point him in the direction of the only hotel the town had.

It wasn’t far from the plaza, maybe a bit closer to it than he’d have liked, but it seemed well-maintained, if tiny. Aside from a small sign outside, he would have never guessed it to be a hotel though, as it blended in with the other buildings perfectly. Before they went inside, Akaashi insisted (very weakly still but he didn’t have much of a choice) he could walk on his own now, but still leaned on him a bit as they talked to the nice old lady at the counter.

The advantages of being in a town as small as this one were apparently that hardly any hotel rooms were used. Why would they be? He hadn’t even known of this place before Hanamaki had moved here.

The disadvantages were that being the only hotel in a town meant they could price it however the hell they wanted. Tooru scowled at the money he’d lose – he had more than enough, but what a rip-off. They could be glad they didn’t have to close down yet.

Akaashi sat down on the bed in their small, but nice room and sighed. The fact that it was a double bed wasn’t surprising, but now that things had slowed down a bit, it made the whole debacle even more stressful.

(But hey, wasn’t this how it was in movies all the time? He’d seen his fair share of rom-coms, he knew how this could end.)

“I should have never tried that. At least not on Halloween. What am I, stupid?”

“You’re adorable,” Tooru argued before sitting down on the chair across from him. “But yup, also stupid. I guess it’s on me too though … I should have stopped you. Do you remember everything?” Honestly, it didn’t feel like he would. To his surprise though, Akaashi nodded.

“Yes, actually. It was … I was both hyperaware of what was happening and dissociating so I didn’t care. It felt terrible either way. Never again.”

“Noted.” They sat there in silence for a while, letting everything sink in. In the end, the whole ordeal hadn’t taken too long, but if he hadn’t stopped it this early, the results might have been disastrous.

Now that he was properly looking at him, it was easy to tell how exhausted he was. His eyes had gone back to normal, but were more heavy-lidded than usual, as if he was ready to pass out at any given moment, and his skin was an odd shade, both too pale and slightly red.

He couldn’t stand the sight. Despite knowing that calling upon those spirits had been their own bad idea, he couldn’t help but feel like he needed to avenge him somehow. If they ever figured out a way to punch spirits, he’d do it. Or perhaps something more long-lasting. Could you ruin a spirit’s life? It sounded like a losing battle, but he was willing to try.

Right now though, all he said was, “You should sleep. You look terrible.”

Akaashi muttered something that sounded like “why, thank you” and it made him snort. He did, in fact, look terrible, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t still beautiful. Annoyingly so, actually. It was like he didn’t even try. Knowing him, he didn’t. Tooru considered himself fairly attractive and many people seemed to agree with him, but the only person prettier than Akaashi he’d ever met was that manager from Karasuno, Shimizu, and he was pretty sure she was actually an angel.

He dropped back against the mattress and quietly asked, “What about you?”

“I, for one, didn’t … Uh, channel an ancient spirit? Is that what you did?” Thinking about it, he had no idea what exactly Akaashi had done, or attempted to do at least. “You said ‘I can see them’ and you looked pretty possessed, but what do I know.”

What had that been all about anyway? See whom?

Akaashi sat back up – how counter-productive, he’d been on such a good way to rest – and looked at him very intently. “I did. I saw … I think it was the aura of something that wasn’t in this world. Perhaps the aura of spirits. I’m not sure how it worked, but I think it amplified my power. That might have been why it was too much, too. My body couldn’t handle it on its own.”

“That,” Tooru said and stared back with an increasingly bad feeling in his gut, “is terrifying. You’re terrifying. If I didn’t like you I’d be running out screaming right now. But …”

He’d seen Akaashi’s aura too. He assumed it was because he’d grown incredibly powerful for a short time, so powerful even mere humans could tell.

Red and gold. Sugawara had once told him that even though the colour changed with mood, everyone had a unique colour to theirs, very few of which could be described in human terms. He wondered if that red and gold was Akaashi’s colour, now that it wasn’t muddled by those others.

He wanted to see it again.

“You’re beautiful,” he said before he even realised it.

Was he imagining it or was Akaashi blushing? He knew he himself was, and if Iwaizumi had been right, which, by god, he was hoping for, it shouldn’t be too far off, but …

Oh god, this was the part he had even less of a clue about.

“Y-your—” _Aura, I mean._ But he kind of didn’t want to finish that sentence. Leaving him in the dark about it to surprise him at another time sounded more fun. Now how did he get out of this situation though? Just go with it? Oh, fuck it. “You’re really pretty. I mean. I guess you know that since I told you before but it’s not just your photos, you know. You’re actually pretty in person. Which, I know, should probably be a given but I’m not sure if you know, so.”

Wow, this was worse than before. _Splendid job, Tooru! You should do this professionally._

“Uhm … Thank you.” If nothing else, Akaashi truly was blushing now, no doubt about it. It did strange things to Tooru’s heart.

He almost didn’t dare get up and sit down next to him, but frankly, this chair wasn’t really comfortable and maybe, just maybe, this moment could lead somewhere. All his hopes were hinging on his less than stellar flirting skills. What a horrible fate to be stuck with.

As soon as he sat down, Akaashi started leaning against him. That was a good sign, right? Or maybe just a sign that he was really tired and should probably go to sleep. Possibly both. Hopefully both. Well, not that he was hoping for him to be tired, but …

“You’re beautiful too. Especially now. I feel like I can see your aura more clearly now. Maybe I’m just imagining it.”

He might have stopped breathing.

“You’re always so bright, too. I wonder if it’s really because of the people you’re around. Maybe there’s more to you than you realise.” Akaashi turned his head and looked him straight in the eyes, and there was something written on his face. He was … amazed, maybe. He didn’t dare call it awestruck. “Or I’m just seeing things. I’m biased, I suppose.”

“How so?” Part of him knew the answer already, but he needed verbal confirmation of some sort. Something to grasp and never let go.

“I mean … I think …” His words trailed off into nothing.

Tooru never got his verbal confirmation.

Before he knew it, their lips touched.

Gently at first, then, when he realised what was going on and that neither of them was stopping it, he deepened the kiss, until eventually they lay on the bed holding each other close and only breaking apart for air every so often.

It was all happening very quickly and it was overwhelming in many ways, but he didn’t mind. With every second spent like this, he knew it was the right thing. It might have just been because he was being blinded by his feelings, but it felt like there was something more to it than just a simple crush on that boy he’d met once but couldn’t stop talking to.

He’d never believed in soulmates, but with all the magic in the world, he had to wonder why he wouldn’t.

 

* * *

 

When Keiji woke up, the sun was shining into the room from a barely covered window and he had the distinct feeling that something was missing.

He needed a little while to gather his thoughts and memories from yesterday, but bit by bit it came back to him. The party. His failed try at connecting with the spirits at the plaza. Oikawa.

Or … He supposed he should call him Tooru now. Kissing and sleeping together sounded like more than enough to switch to first names. That thought also made him realise what was missing – Tooru was nowhere to be found.

That was until he heard something drop and shatter behind the bathroom door, followed by a poignant “fuck”.

He quietly laughed to himself, both because everything was funny when he was still drowsy from sleep and because it was an excellent way to ignore having to deal with this. Even after everything, the thought of getting rejected still stung.

A few minutes later, Tooru emerged from the bathroom with a defeated expression that lit up a bit when he saw Keiji. He was holding what looked like a glass shard. “You don’t think we’ll have to pay for this, right? I mean, they had enough money to put up fresh toothbrushes, so I’m sure they can just replace a glass …”

“Good morning to you too,” Keiji deadpanned.

“I was about to get to that!” Tooru complained in a tone of voice that suggested he had not been about to get to that. “Good morning, sweetheart, I hope you had a good night’s sleep. You look much better at least.”

“I feel much better,” he said, ignoring the flutter in his chest upon being called ‘sweetheart’. Since when was he susceptible to cheesy nicknames? Until he had a better answer, he’d blame the spirits. “Sorry for yesterday.”

He waved him off with an unimpressed expression. “Don’t worry about it. At least it’s something to tell on family reunions. Besides, in the end it all turned out okay, didn’t it? I mean, you lost some evil spirit’s possession and gained a boyfriend. Fair trade, if I dare say.”

Oh.

They stared at each other for a long time.

“Uh,” Tooru eventually started, suddenly losing all his nonchalant confidence from earlier. “We … We are dating now, right? I mean, I’m not taking you for the kind of guy who’d go around and kiss random people and I know I want to be with you, so I just … Assumed …”

“Yes,” he said. There were some more things to be cleared up, and this felt very anticlimactic, but he didn’t know where to even begin.

They’d just have to figure that out somewhere along the way, he supposed.

“Perfect!” The awkward silence in the room following that exclamation made it clear that it was not, in fact, perfect, but strangely, Keiji wasn’t bothered by it.

They’d make it perfect down the line. For now, all that mattered was this beginning.

**Author's Note:**

> and then Yukihira laughed at Akaashi for next century. the end
> 
> thanks for reading and, once again, Happy Halloween! unless Halloween is already over when you're reading this, in which case ... happy whatever day it is! hope it's a good one!
> 
> hq!! tumblr: akaashi-tooru.tumblr.com/ come yell with me about Akaoi and other rarepairs


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